Sons and Daughters... or Just Sons?

Good day to you all in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior! 

I'll be picking up the slack here on the blog with some new posts. I've got a few already written up that I'll publish over the next few days, and it is my aim to continue writing a couple every week.

Over the past few years I have heard pastors and preachers use the phrase "sons and daughters" to refer to men and women in the church, specifically to us being adopted as God's children. There is even a Christian worship duo called "All Sons and Daughters." It got me thinking about the biblical doctrine of adoption and how it is used to describe us as the children of God. Is there a disconnect here? Does the Bible refer to us all as being adopted as sons and daughters, or is there a deeper, more rich understanding in the scripture that we are ignoring?

Apart from the OT reference to sons and daughters in 2 Corinthians 6:18, it would seem Paul is more interested in ascribing to Christians the υἱοθεσία (adoption as sons), regardless of gender. For example, while Galatians 3:28 seems to be a favorite feminist text for proclaiming the equality of men and women in the church, just a few verses later we see Paul exclaiming the blessing of υἱοθεσία for all the church (4:5). The concept of υἱοθεσία is no doubt heavily influenced by culture, so a modern import of thought and desire for “equality” would do damage to the term. In fact, by referring to both men and women equally as sons, however odd that might sound to call a woman a son, Paul has actually managed to further the equal standing that men and women both share in Christ. In ancient times, especially in Jewish culture, the firstborn son (or at times a younger son, if special election was made) was given special inheritance and privilege. To add, being adopted was no less than being a legitimate son; as Louw and Nida explains, υἱοθεσία is “to formally and legally declare that someone who is not one’s own child is henceforth to be treated and cared for as one’s own child, including complete rights of inheritance.” So when Paul says “In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” he is not doing a disservice to women by disrespecting gender. In fact, he is displaying the equal standing that men and women have in Christ. It is Christ who justifies, and nothing that we perform to earn our way into the presence of our Father, whether male or female. We stand on the work that Christ accomplished in our place, and on that work alone. 

So I want to make a suggestion to Christian women: do not attempt to cheapen the inheritance you have in Christ in the name of equality; you have been adopted as a son, and therefore partake in all of the benefits that come with υἱοθεσία. Understand the historical importance of the term and the biblical truth which proclaims you as a joint heir. While this does not destroy gender entirely or the roles we have in every day life as well as in the assembled church, it does emphasize that within Christianity and the eschaton, women are not second-rate citizens. Men and women equally share in the righteousness of Christ, which produces our justification.

The next time someone suggests to you that Christianity is male-dominated and lessens the value of women, be sure to tell them whether male or female, as long as we are in Jesus, we are all sons, and therefore, all joint-heirs together with Him.

Grace and Peace,
Joel